Do I Really Need a Home Inventory?

A home inventory helps organize your possessions and track their value. It makes it easier to manage a future insurance claim, and it could be the difference between an accurate or underpaid claim.

We know about the benefits of creating a home inventory. But how many homeowners actually make one?

Let’s find out how many homeowners have a home inventory – and whether or not you really need to make one.

54% of Policyholders Document & Insure Their Property

There are few polls asking homeowners whether or not they have created a home inventory.

However, the Kinder Institute of Rice University recently published the results of its Greater Houston Community Panel (GHCP), which asked residents about their level of preparedness.

The poll found:

• 54% of residents “had taken action” to document and insure their property, while 46% had not taken action
• 41% of residents reported taking action to safeguard documents
• 32% of homeowners had created a household family emergency plan, although just 16% had practiced emergency drills

In other words, over half of all respondents reported documenting and insuring their property, giving us a good ballpark estimate for how many people have some formal documentation proving the contents of their home.

How Does a Home Inventory Work?

A home inventory doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, it shouldn’t be complicated.

The best home inventory is a simple document with information like:

• Name of item
• Room the item is in
• Who the item belongs to
• Purchase price, purchase date, and purchase location
• Additional item details (like serial number or purpose of item)
• Warranty information
• Visual evidence of the item (like photos and videos)

Some use an Excel spreadsheet. Others use pre-built templates. You can even download free mobile apps.

3 Reasons to Create a Home Inventory

The Insurance Information Institute highlights three big reasons for creating a home inventory:

1. Helps You Purchase the Right Amount of Insurance: If you don’t know the approximate value of items in your home, then how can you purchase the right amount or type of insurance? A home inventory helps you determine if you need to add endorsements or extra coverage – or if you have enough personal property coverage at all.
2. Makes It Easy to File a Claim: If your home burned to the ground today, would you know how many t-shirts you owned? Do you know how much you paid for your TV ten years ago? Do you know the serial number of your lawnmower? A home inventory makes it easy to track all of this information, expediting a claim and reducing stress.
3. Substantiates a Financial Loss for Tax Purposes or When Applying for Financial Assistance: After a disaster, a home inventory could help you qualify for a tax break or disaster assistance funding. Your home inventory helps you substantiate, or prove, your losses.

Home Inventories Are Extra Important in 2025

According to Investopedia, home inventories are extra important in our post-pandemic world.

That’s because people invested significantly in their homes over the last few years – from buying new things to completing major remodeling projects.

All of that spending makes it a good idea to update your home inventory. Otherwise, all of that spending could be lost. If you don’t have proof you bought a $1,000 office chair to work comfortably from home, then insurance is unlikely to cover it.

Forbes, meanwhile, echoed that sentiment in a 2024 writeup, claiming “You Really Need a Home Inventory.”

What Does the Internet Say?

The internet is split about home inventories. Most agree it’s a good idea to create a home inventory. However, not everyone actually follows that advice.

• In r/homeowners, for example, some Redditors praise home inventories for helping them maximize the value of an insurance claim, receiving full value for items lost from a house fire.
• One Redditor even recommends filming every high-value item in your home while “verbally describing the items.” Then, store that video in the cloud.
• Some Redditors document their closet to count the number of shirts, dresses, suits, pants, and other items. It may seem like a frivolous thing. However, if your house burns down, insurance wants to know approximately how many shirts you owned so it can accurately compensate you for the damage.
• On r/insurance, Redditors also advocate the value of a home inventory. One Redditor claims to have previously worked for an insurer to process claims and “asked for home inventories all the time.”
• Another Redditor, meanwhile, claims he did not have an inventory before a recent large claim but is definitely maintaining one moving forward. Now, he keeps an Excel spreadsheet in the cloud with photos and other records, tracking the brand, model, differentiating features, purchase or acquisition date, purchase price, store, and order number, among other object features, to expedite a potential future insurance claim.

Overall, most internet users – especially those with any connection to the insurance industry – recommend creating a home inventory.

Home Inventory Checklist: Tips & Tricks

Creating a home inventory is easier than you think.

Some use a bare-bones Excel spreadsheet. Others use home inventory apps or pre-made templates from insurance firms.

Here are some of the tips for creating your home inventory checklist:

• Use home inventory apps like NAIC Home Inventory, Encircle, or Itemtopia, all of which are available for iOS or Android
• Use a pre-made home inventory spreadsheet template, like the United Policyholders template or this template from the New York Department of Financial Services
• Add photos and videos of your item to prove its condition
• Add new purchases to your home inventory as you buy them
• Keep receipts, especially for high-value items
• Be prepared to provide proof of ownership during a claim (like receipts, bills, or credit card statements)

For more tips on creating a home inventory checklist, click here.

Or, for a free consultation with a licensed public adjuster for your insurance claim, contact ClaimsMate today.

Stephanie Corona

Stephanie is a property insurance claim expert with over 20 years of experience working as an insurance adjuster, expert witness, appraiser and umpire. She is passionate about sharing her expertise, knowledge, tips and training to help both property owners and Public Adjusters in their pursuit of effectively managing claims and recovering the claim settlement they deserve after a loss.